Tuesday, 13 October 2015

Strategic Results Overview 2015

A
number of interesting facts and statistics were presented at the 2015
CIMA conference last week.

The
conference was attended by key people from CIMA and tuition providers
including members of the Astranti team.

We
would like to share with you some of the key points raised at the
conference.

In
this blog I am going to summarise the conference content that focused
on the Strategic l level. This included a review on the E3, P3, F3
and Strategic Case Study exams. It also covered what went well for
students on the previous sittings and key areas that need to be
improved for the future.

The
information was presented at the conference by Samuel
Li,
Learning Support Manager and a leading case study writer and marker.

I
hope you find this summary useful as it includes some important
information that could help you as you progress through your studies.

Lets start with E3…

E3 Pass Rates

The
overall pass rate for E3 between January – September 2015 was 75%.
More than 60% of students passed of their first attempt.

E3
Sectional performance

The
CIMA presenter commented that all students that passed performed well
across all syllabus areas with the exception of 'The role of
information systems in organisational strategy'. However those that
failed also performed poorly in 'Evaluating strategic position and
strategic options' and 'Leading change'.

E3
Regional performance

Overall the performance of
students across geographic regions was very similar. However students
in MESANA and Africa performed less well in 'Evaluating strategic
position and strategic options' and 'leading change'.

P3 Pass Rates

There is an upward trend in the
pass rate for the P3 exam with 64% passing during the January –
September 2015 period. Around half of students passed on the first
attempt.

P3
Sectional Performance

Students
that passed P3 tended to perform well across all areas of the
syllabus. Conversely, those that failed performed poorly across all
areas. 'Internal controls to manage risk' was the most challenging
area for most students.

P3
Regional Performance

On
a regional basis Europe performed strongest whilst students from
Africa performed relatively poorly. Students from MESANA found
'Identification, classification and evaluation of risk' and
'Responses to strategic risk' the most challenging syllabus areas.

F3 Pass Rates

The
pass rates for the F3 exam was identical to P3. 64% of students
passed overall in the period January – September 2015 with almost
half passing on their first attempt.

F3
Sectional Performance

The
performance across the syllabus areas was uniform. However there were
extreme difference between those that passed and those that failed.
The weakest area tended to be 'Corporate finance' which is the
largest area of the syllabus at 40%.

F3
Regional Performance

Students from Europe performed
strongest in comparison to other regions. African students performed
least well. The presenter commented there are huge opportunities for
improvement in regions outside of Europe.

Strategic
Case Study

There is a positive trend in
pass rates for the Strategic Case Study with students in August
achieving good pass rates. It appears that students now better
understand the requirements of the case study. Answers are longer
with less key points missed and models used applied to the scenario.

The presenter gave some key
tips for future students:

Read the pre-seen and know it
well (there is no time to do this in the exam)